~In the Lobby~
Kevin approached the front desk to find a half conscious teenage boy sitting behind it. Clearing his throat, the boy jumped to attention.
Flustered, he tried to cover the fact that he'd been sleeping on the job. "What can I do for you, sir?"
Kevin chuckled, but decided to use the slight blackmail to his advantage. "Are you supposed to be sleeping on the job," he glanced at his nametag, "Mike?"
Blushing, the boy stammered. "Ah�um�no. Please sir, I can't afford to lose this job or my parents will take my car!!"
Laughing on the inside, Kevin pretended to be considering a way that Mike could help him in return for his secret being kept.
"Well� if you can make me a promise, I won't tell your boss, deal?"
"Yes, of course, sir. Anything," Mike replied.
"Well, I need a set of bed sheets delivered to room 9113, but leave them at the door. I want you to deliver them personally, Mike. Plus, I need some bandages right now, and Mike, keep all this to yourself and your boss won't hear about your little on-the-job nap, alright?"
Mike nodded before heading into the back storeroom. He came back with two large boxes of bandages and another first aid kit.
"Is this okay sir? Will this be enough?"
Smiling, Kevin replied, "Yes, this is perfect. Thank you."
"Um, sir? Is someone hurt? Do you need me to call an ambulance for you?"
"Um� no, no one's hurt badly. An ambulance won't be needed. Oh, and Mike, if you could, would you add the complete bill for room 8113 onto the bill for room 9121 and make sure that 8113 is checked out of in the morning. Thank you, young man."
Writing down the billing information, Mike nodded.
"You're welcome sir, and I'll bring those extra sheets up for you in a moment."
Kevin smiled and nodded, before heading towards the elevators.
Watching Kevin's retreating back, Mike shook his head and, before going to the laundry room for the clean sheets, whispered, "Jesus, that guy must have some wicked sex games going on�"
~
Rushing back upstairs, he stormed into Nick's bedroom to hear the sound of sobbing. Angel's stuff remained untouched in the foyer, and once in Nick's room, he noticed that she hadn't moved from her spot next to Nick on the bed. He sighed and cleared his throat. She immediately looked up, startled, and for the first time, he noticed how young she was, how innocent, how scared.
"I got more bandages, so why don't you clean up his back while I prop him up? Then I'll clean the what�s left of him up while you rest," he said softly.
In silence, Angel nodded and took the bandages from Kevin's arms.
*
Over an hour later, Kevin exited the bedroom after bandaging the rest of Nick's wounds and changing the sheets. As Mike had promised, the clean sheets were promptly brought to the room and left in the hallway. Nick's clothes had been changed and he was now lying in bed, unconscious but clean, nursing a pretty serious head wound; he was breathing and his heart was still beating so Kevin wasn't worried.
He found Angel wide-awake on the couch, staring out of the open balcony door. She wouldn't go near the door, but rather, requested Kevin to open it so the chilly early morning air could blow in. Despite being in the middle of summer, it was unnaturally cool, almost to be in synch with the tragic events.
Hearing Kevin enter the room, Angel had turned and told him, "I'm wide awake Kevin, so why don't you go to bed and I'll keep a watch on Nick. You've done so much tonight and I thank you. You have to be exhausted, so go get some sleep."
He was exhausted, he had to admit, but Angel looked as if she should be in bed unconscious as well. Despite his coaxing, she was still covered in blood and in the same clothes as earlier. It was almost as if she were numb to her own pain and didn't realize the amount of blood she had lost as well. She was more worried about Nick and him, and even A.J., to worry about her own health. He tried to help her, but she always changed the subject.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Kevin. I'll watch over him and sleep later on. You go get some rest."
Nodding, Kevin left and headed towards his own room. Stopping midway, he debated on whether to check on A.J. or not.
�Nah, he caused all these problems, so Howie should take care of him and I'll check on him later� he thought.
Glancing at his watch, he saw the glow of 8:32 a.m. and groaned. The night was finally over, but as he crawled into his bed, the sun beginning to shine through the window, he realized that this wasn't the end.
~
From the time Kevin left until the time the sun rose past the mid-day mark, Leslie had sat next to Nick's bed, watching to make sure he was still alive. She was afraid to blink in fear when she opened her eyes, he wouldn't be there. She hadn't bothered spending any time cleaning her own wounds. It seemed unnecessary. They were signs of the pain she had caused not only to herself, but to the others as well. She hadn't heard from any of the other guys, so she assumed they were still sleeping and were forgetting about the events of the night before. Believing sleep wouldn't come even if she willed it, she continued her watch over Nick and her prayers toward, whom she believed was now her guardian angel, Brian.
�Please, Brian, if he's closer to death than life, let him die. I can't bear seeing him like this. In so much pain. Please, I know I failed you, but don't make Nick suffer for it. Make me. Please save him Brian�
Her thoughts continued to go in a roundabout "conversation" with a "person" who might not even hear a word she was saying. She was willing to let both Nick and Brian go if that's how it had to be, but not so willing to give up hope that Nick would live if it were any possibility. She needed him to continue her life, and she was willing to end her own life if he should die.
As the sun continued to travel its path through the sky, Leslie's eyelids became heavy and trying to hold them open through the swelling was impossible. So, unknowingly, she let sleep overtake her.
*
Nick continued to fall through the dark tunnel until he landed on a slick surface. Feeling exhausted and rejuvenated at the same time, he fought against the darkness with renewed determination to see Angel's face again.
It was like another dream, but this time he was in a tunnel. One end led towards black darkness, the other was a yellowish light. He'd fallen straight into the tunnel and, despite the blackness pulling him towards itself, he fought to reach the sunlight. With each step, his weariness slipped away. Angel's face entered his mind and with new strength, he pushed forward. The last five steps seemed to take forever, but finally, he stumbled into the light and fell through the soft sunbeams, landing on what felt like a cushy bed.
~
His head hurt. It was more pain than his body had ever felt before. Trying to open his eyelids or twitch his fingers caused the pain to shoot through his body and take a permanent residence in every fiber of his muscles. He groaned as he fought to open his eyes against the pain. The last thing he remembered was seeing Angel halfway hanging over the balcony railing with A.J.'s hands around her neck. Panic overcame him and he forced his eyes opened, immediately wincing at not only the pain, but the bright sunlight as well.
Working slowly, he got his eyes to stay open a bit, and as his vision slowly cleared, he saw intense engulfing the room. He could only see the shadows of the furniture in the room due to the light being too bright for him to make out details.
He noticed one particular shadow right next to the bed he assumed he was lying on. It leaned against the mattress and he thought it might be a person, but couldn't tell what it could be.
The pain moved to his eyes and his vision blurred. Allowing them to close, he fell into a deep sleep.
*
Leslie was in a dark room by herself and every time she tried to move, she was pulled back to her original position. She lacked any negative emotions; her pain and fear had vanished and she only felt peace.
She groaned, not knowing what was going on or how to get out of the situation.
Hey Leslie, how ya feeling?
A gentle smile crossed her face as she recognized the voice.
�Hey Brian. I've felt better. Is Nick with you?�
At that moment, a bright silver glow lit the room and Brian stood in front of her, perfect and pristine.
"No, he's with you. Everything is going to be fine babe. He'll be back to himself in no time. Promise."
"So, he doesn't have a concussion? Or brain damage? He received some pretty bad blows to the head."
"Concussion, yes. Brian damage, well, not any more than he already had." Brian�s grin turned into a look of puzzlement. "Why can't I see you Leslie? I can see your outline, but not you. How come?"
"Because I�m not dead Brian," she spoke matter of fact.
"Well, neither was Nick, and I could still see and play basketball with him. Why is there a difference?"
"Because you had permission to see him and you're coming to me in a dream." She paused with a slight tinge of panic. "I mean you did do something different when you saw Nick, right?"
Skeptically, Brian replied, "Yeah, I talked to the lady in charge, and she told me to bring him up so he wouldn't be so scared�"
"So he's about to wake up?"
He nodded.
"Well, I better go, so he doesn't freak. We'll talk later Bri."
With that, she willed herself away feeling as if she'd said too much, and the vortex that had held her in place, let her go.
"But I was supposed� to warn you�" Brian started, confused at her sudden disappearance and her answers. It was almost as if she knew more than he did. He stood there, trying to decipher the conversation, but was soon pulled out of the vortex to his eternal home.
Leslie, on the other hand, fell into a deep sleep with no memory of the dream except for a lingering feeling of peace.